November 25, 2007

Taking 'good roles': Matthew Broderick talks career, 'Wonderful World'

By Alexandyr Kent, Shreveport Times

MATTHEW BRODERICK'S CAREER HIGHLIGHTS 1983: stars in movie "War Games." 1983: wins Tony for "Brighton Beach Memoirs." 1986: stars in movie "Ferris Bueller's Day Off." 1990: stars in movie "The Freshman" with Marlon Brando. 1994: voice work for "The Lion King." 1995: wins Tony for "How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying." 1999: stars in movies "Election" and "Inspector Gadget." 2001: Tony nomination for "The Producers." 2004: stars in movie remake of "The Stepford Wives." 2005: stars in movie version of "The Producers." 2007: voice work for "Bee Movie."

When it comes to choosing roles, Matthew Broderick has never really tried to shape a particular career.

"You probably could be very clever about that, but I can't figure out how to do it," said the Hollywood and Tony-winning Broadway star. "In the old days, you would have the head of the studio say, 'That's a Robert Montgomery part.'"

These days, Broderick reads a script, decides if it has a shot at being good or not, and then, quite simply, acts.

"There is no Samuel Goldwyn telling me what to do. I just am trying to find good roles and, hopefully, it will eventually mean that I had a career."

He hopes he took another step in that direction on the streets of Shreveport recently.

During the last night of shooting "Wonderful World," Broderick sat down to discuss his newest role: Ben Singer, a father, divorcé and proofreader described as the most negative man in the world. Singer is the central character of a comic fable about parenting, hope (or hopelessness) and an unlikely romance. continued on 2D

Casual followers of Broderick's career might see the character as against type for an actor who made Ferris Bueller famous and Leo Bloom ("The Producers") funny again. High-profile comedic roles, however, shouldn't overshadow the shady guys Broderick has embraced during the past decade or so.

There's Steven Kovacs, the reluctant friend from "The Cable Guy." There's Jim McAllister, the vote-fixing teacher from "Election." And there's Walter Kresby, the underachieving husband in "The Stepford Wives."

"I have a hopeless streak," Broderick confessed.

"Wonderful World" pairs Broderick with screenwriter and first-time director Joshua Goldin. The two have been friends for 15 years, since working together on "Out on a Limb."

"I definitely wrote a part that I thought Matthew would be great at playing, and would be a challenge for him to play too," Goldin said. "I wanted it to be a character who could be extremely negative. Yet, you see a bedrock of humanness and a sweetness to him, and Matthew just automatically has it."

Broderick's character, once a child pop star and now an aimless office man, simply refuses to filter his outlook for anyone, including his young daughter, his boss and his Senegalese roommate. His brutal cynicism, however, won't ultimately be taken as meanness.

"He's trying to live a very straightforward life, to be straight with the world and with people," Broderick said. "But he's sort of taken that too far, so any infraction of dishonesty or indecency, he has no tolerance for."

Goldin believes Broderick's popular reputation might serve "Wonderful World" well.

"In a lot of ways, when you're watching this movie you are waiting for him to return to Matthew," Goldin said. "It's a movie about a character who comes back to himself, in a way. I think that that's one of the things that makes Matthew great for this."

"Wonderful World" wrapped production in Shreveport on Nov. 17. To make the small independent film, locally based Louisiana Production Consultants teamed with Ambush Entertainment ("The Squid and the Whale") and Back Lot Pictures ("Hollywoodland").

Work and play in Shreveport

While shooting "Wonderful World," principal cast and crew didn't have a lot of time to explore the region. What little they've seen, however, they enjoyed.

Jodelle Ferland, 13, played the daughter of Broderick's character. Between shoots and on-set study sessions, she managed to carve out a little time at the State Fair of Louisiana.

"My mom won me a big Scooby Doo, and I won a penguin with a surfboard and some fuzzy dice," Ferland said with a big smile. The duo also managed a trip to the Gator and Friends alligator park in Greenwood. "There were like so many alligators, and they had like ostriches, and they ate out of my hand, and it really hurt."

Director and screenwriter Goldin, of Los Angeles, has spent most of his time at the production offices at Mansfield Studios or on set.

"I've been on a couple sets for movies that I've done, where there was a little more of a business-as-usual attitude amongst the crew, and also there was a lot more infighting," Goldin said. "This one has none of that. A lot of people on the crew have said that they've had a great time."

Broderick has sampled a little bit of the local offerings.

"It's a cliché, but people are nice here," he said. "Bars are open until 6, which is really bizarre. I've gone running on that path that goes down the river near the casino, which is really beautiful. I wish I got to know it more. I have a regret about that, in a way."